


Snow fight

by paupotter_4869



Series: The Most Important Thing. . . [21]
Category: The Last of Us (Video Games)
Genre: F/F, Father-Daughter Relationship, Humor, Silly Games, Snow Fight, Teasing, Winter, dina as well, joel needs to have so much patience with ellie, lovingly and hatingly nurturing each other back to health
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:40:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28435533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paupotter_4869/pseuds/paupotter_4869
Summary: The fact that Ellie has her own place does not indicate she's a mature, responsible, sensible adult in no way whatsoever. It doesn't mean, either, that Joel won't answer whenever Ellie needs him. . . :)
Relationships: Dina/Ellie (The Last of Us), Ellie & Joel (The Last of Us)
Series: The Most Important Thing. . . [21]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2033674
Comments: 2
Kudos: 33





	Snow fight

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own anything. All credit to Naughty Dogs.

_I’m sorry we destroyed your stupid snowman._

That’s how it all began. Inane banter and teasing amongst kids—mostly—that preceded a snow fight the likes of which no one had seen around Jackson in ages. The kids destroying the snowman was simply an excuse, and the fact that Dina and Ellie had been working on it for a total of ten minutes was exactly that, an excuse to have hell break loose. 

Although the consequences were more severe than expected. 

“Fucking hell, Ellie,” Dina scowled as she picked up every single blanket and jacket she could get her hands on and threw them all over Ellie, lying and shivering on the bed. “I know the little fuckers got what they deserved, but dammit! You’re supposed to be the bigger man here.” 

“Bigger _woman,_ you mean,” Ellie replied through rattling teeth. 

“Sure, correct my grammar, _that’s_ what truly matters, here,” scowled Dina. After Ellie had undressed and put on dry clothes, she grabbed the damp change of clothes and all the towels they’d used and left the bed to hang them by the fire. 

It was great, for a while. Dina and Ellie enjoyed a comfortable advantage—the kids were covered in snow from head to toes—and none of the parents had yet heard about the snow fight, so no one had shown to put a stop to it. The only problem was, Ellie had been too worried about using evasive techniques and dodging snowballs. Too concerned with that, she’d paid no attention whatsoever to her surroundings. She’d slipped, stumbled, and fell into the frozen pond near the farmhouse. 

She would have been fine had that little accident happened during the summer, maybe even the autumn season. But not in fucking winter. Doc was worried about pneumonia, hypothermia, and Ellie losing one or some of her limbs. 

“I’ll be fine,” Ellie kept insisting, although her lips and fingers had already turned blue. At the very least, they’d gotten her out of the pond quickly enough, while the kids chanted victory by forfeit, and Dina used a ton of inappropriate language to get the kids out of the way and their heads out of the game. Somehow, she’d yelled loud enough for other townsfolk to hear the fuss and gather around to help her getting Ellie to the clinic. 

They’d gotten her out of those freezing clothes and dried her hair and body. Now, taking plenty of warm fluids, there was a chance she’d make it. 

“You should at least lose a finger or two, for that one,” Dina scowled. 

“Don’t be like that,” scoffed Ellie, trying to hide under the blankets. “And come here.”

“I’ll catch a cold, too.”

“I don’t care. I’m cold. I want you here. Now.” 

“Very romantic and all, demanding affection like that.” 

“Don’t give a shit about romance. I just want you to cuddle me and keep me warm.”

“Pretty sure you’ve got a fever, too,” sighed Dina. 

Still, she bit her lip and pondered for two seconds before she climbed up on the bed. Clumsily, Ellie tried to retreat back against the wall, giving Dina some room. 

“Christ, you are cold,” Dina scowled, almost tempted to leave the bed right away. 

“I fell into a fucking frozen pond, what did you expect?” replied Ellie. 

Despite her response and Dina’s first instincts, the girl snuggled closer, and then took Ellie’s hands in hers, blowing warm air against her freezing skin. Ellie groaned, but she flashed a little smile for the first time since the mishap. 

“Maybe you could make me some hot cocoa, while you’re at it.”

“Don’t push your luck,” Dina warned her. 

She held Ellie close and tight, short of willing her to get better out of sheer brute strength, and let Ellie rest against the crook of her neck. 

“Come closer,” Ellie begged her—or so Dina thought, and did it anyway. She rested her forehead against Ellie’s and confirmed her earlier assumptions. Ellie was running quite a high fever. She probably didn’t even know what she was saying.

Whether she was high on fever or not, her shivering got a little bit better, her teeth stopped rattling, her muscles untensed. At some point, Ellie let out a deep, content sigh and she finally relaxed in Dina’s arms. Her movements were more collected and the muscle spasms stopped. A natural, healthy color was slowly returning to her hands, face, and lips. Yeah, she would be alright, Dina concluded with a smirk. No one who looked as peaceful as Ellie did at that moment died of pneumonia the next second. 

It might’ve been midnight, for all they cared. Nothing else mattered, not anymore. Whatever else was happening around town, they’d be none the wiser, for at that moment they stood on a limbo, living in their own little bubble of warmth and cuddles. The two girls realized they could spend the rest of the afternoon there on the bed, dozing off.

“Ellie?” asked the too well-known voice of Joel. “Dina?” 

“Crap,” uttered Dina. By the sounds of it, the man was standing right outside the door—they were just lucky he still complied with social conventions and didn’t break in without permission. 

“Hello?” Joel insisted. 

Dina shook Ellie by the arms to startle her awake and, next, threw the blankets away. Ellie complained at the harsh treatment and tried pulling Dina back to bed, searching for her with eyes closed. Only, her fingers were still cold enough to make Dina squeal. 

The sound only made Ellie chuckle in turn. She got up resting on one shoulder, perhaps too out of it to realize the conundrum they were in. 

“Don’t go anywhere,” Ellie begged Dina. 

“Oh, should I just strip naked and let Joel catch us like this?” 

“Catch us how, exactly? You’re just saving me from hypothermia.”

“You’re incorrigible, you truly are,” Dina scowled with a roll of eyes. 

“Those little fuckers destroyed our masterpiece before we could name him,” Ellie realized just then. 

“Ellie!” Joel bellowed outside. 

“Coming!” Dina yelled, then addressed Ellie one last promise. “It’s OK, we’ll build a bigger and better snowman when you’re feeling better.”

As Joel kept knocking—or banging—on the door, Dina jumped out of Ellie’s reach. Too far away, Ellie gave up on any games and teasing and hid under the blankets. 

With that, Dina answered the door instants before Joel knocked it down. She soon understood Joel’s urgency, for he was balancing a steaming and heavy casserole and many blankets and jackets on his arms. Dinna stepped aside and took the spare winter clothes, running back to Ellie’s bed and adding them all to everything else, almost burying her under the heavy weight. 

In the meantime, Joel had carried the casserole into the kitchen. Dina couldn’t help but notice that Joel, after leaving the casserole on the stove, massaged his injured shoulder and worried if by having him waiting out there for so long, carrying such a heavy weight, he could have pulled a sore muscle. Ellie wouldn’t forgive her for that. 

“Got her some broth,” Joel explained, pointing at the casserole, although, given the wonderful smell that filled the room, there was no doubt whatsoever that Joel had had help from someone called Alicia. 

So that’s what Joel had been doing ever since leaving the Clinic. Dina had had to promise she’d stay with Ellie and take good care of her while Joel was otherwise busy. 

“How’s the patient?” asked Joel then, dismissing her worries over the possible injury of his shoulder. 

“Stubborn,” Dina sighed, avoiding Joel’s eye while praying to God he wouldn’t notice the colors rushing to her cheeks. What Dina had in mind five minutes ago while in bed had nothing to do with preventing Ellie from catching pneumonia. 

“That’s no news,” the man pointed out, eyebrow raised. 

“Just making sure you hadn’t forgotten, you know, what with Ellie not living with you 24/7.”

“Hard to forget that one, don’t you think?”

“You do realize I can hear you, right?” Ellie scoffed from the bed. That prompted Dina to give a truthful answer, this time around. 

“Doing better, I believe.” 

They both looked over to the bed, where Ellie, theatrically, reached for some tissues to blow her nose off. Oh, _now_ she was acting sick and like an adorable, irritating, small puppy. She was just trying to piss Dina off, earlier. She would throw her into the pond all over again. 

At that moment, she caught Joel staring at her, not Ellie, and feared what the man might have read in that gaze Dina and Ellie had exchanged. Not quite ready to unravel that mystery, or to have that sort of talk with Ellie’s so-called father figure while Ellie was so out of it, Dina hurried to find a way out—the coward way out, as Ellie would point out, if she had any idea what was going on around her at all. 

“If you’re taking over babysitting duties, I’m going to make myself scarce,” she said, reaching for her winter clothes. 

“No, stay,” Ellie mumbled, a complaint Dina chalked up to the fever. Seeing as she was so flushed and nervous, Joel bit his tongue and stopped himself before suggesting Dina to stay and have dinner with them. There would be time. Or so they always thought, but as peaceful a life as this one was, they usually forgot what things really mattered. He tried not to think about that one too much, or he’d give Ellie the pleasure of saying ‘I told you so’ where Alicia was concerned. 

“I’ll see you later, Joel,” she bid farewell as the man walked her to the door. “Don’t hesitate to call for me if you need anything.” 

“Oh, we’ll be fine, kiddo,” Joel replied. 

However, his light and amused tone vanished as soon as he shut the door and turned around to face Ellie again. Across the room, the girl could already sense Joel’s anger. She’d seen that look on his eyes one too many times when they’d first met—albeit it had been a while since she’d seen it, it wasn’t something Ellie could easily forget.

“Would it help if I told you a joke right now?” 

“You stay there,” Joel forbade her from leaving the thick cocoon of blankets and jackets. She could still argue from the bed, though. 

“Did you hear about the crook who stole a calendar?” Ellie asked nonetheless, and gave Joel the unwanted answer before he could stop her at all. “I heard he got twelve months.” 

“Dammit, kiddo, you're supposed to be smarter than that,” Joel scowled, headed for the kitchen again. 

“Do you know why skeletons never go to parties? Because they have nobody to go with,” Ellie replied. 

“Unbelievable. You’re incorrigible.” 

“Second person to say that to me today,” mumbled Ellie, hiding behind the blankets in frustration upon both Joel and Dina having such a low opinion of her. Joel heard her complaint perfectly from the kitchen, though. 

“Well, those two people happen to be very damn smart, then.”

“Unlike myself, huh?” 

“Given the fact that none of the townsfolk has ever fallen into a frozen pond, yeah, that seems like a very accurate point, kiddo,” Joel scowled, dropping on the bed. 

He helped Ellie to sit up straight while still wrapped in all the blankets and jackets. When she found a relatively comfortable position against the wall, he handed her a mug. Hot cocoa. 

It made Ellie smile and blush—he’d prepared it without knowing she’d begged Dina for some hot cocoa a few minutes ago. Angry as he might be with her, he still caved into her little cravings. It had taken her some time to realize that anger and concern stemmed, oftentimes, from love. So that was Joel’s big plan, then. To grudgingly yet lovingly nurture her back to her fighting fit, all while talking about responsibilities and immaturity, and afterwards would come the lecture. Ellie could live with that. 

Joel nurturing her didn’t mean his visit came without any teasing or judgment, though. It all came soon enough when Joel walked across Ellie’s place while she drank her hot cocoa. 

“You do know not everything can be fixed with duct tape, don’t you, baby girl?” he scowled. He was talking about a broken shelf and a broken leg of the dining table, which she’d tried to patch up with duct tape, in a very poor and clumsy attempt. 

“You can try,” Ellie replied, honoring her title of queen of stubbornness. 

“No, not really,” Joel replied, pointing now at the swivel chair she sat down for hours on end to write, draw, and play. “This could be fatal, Ellie.” 

“Well, it seems I’m all for pushing my luck around here. And I thought you’d come to look after me, not criticize every little thing about my place?” 

“I am perfectly capable of doing both,” Joel said, a warmer tone now, showing he was mostly teasing her. “Tell you what, next time I stop by, I’m going to teach you a thing or two about carpentry.” 

“Can’t wait.”

Joel shook his head in incredulity at Ellie’s sarcasm and kept walking across the room. He refrained from pointing out Ellie needed to try the washing machine and that she had some clothes that needed mending—he was sure she would throw him out of the house if he pushed her too much. Instead, he finished his walking and stopped in front of Ellie. 

“Now, finish that, and we’ll watch a movie. I’ve got a few for you to choose from.”

The plan brought a smile to Ellie’s lips as she finished the cocoa. Although it wasn’t movie night just yet, she was happy nonetheless her little mishap had prompted Joel to stop by. There was no denying it, Joel was right when he said she didn’t have as much spare time for Joel as she used to, and they both regretted so—even though Joel would never confess that aloud, arguing that it was right for Ellie to spend times with kids her age. He would tell her no kid should stay dependent on their old men all of their lives. 

So, maybe she needed to put the cards out there, plain and simple, in a way she knew Joel would hardly ever do himself. Just so they knew where they stood. She hoped she was being driven by the daziness of the fever. 

“I love you too, Joel. Sounds like a good plan. Thanks.” 

Seeing Joel flustered and shocked wasn’t an ordinary occurrence, but Ellie did her best not to laugh at him—it would only have embarrassed them both more so. She knew for a fact she would have reacted the same way had he said those three words. 

As she’d predicted he would, Joel stared at the floor for some seconds, then cleared his throat, and rested on the kitchen countertop. Arms crossed, he avoided her eye, and dodged the subject at hand. Gods, how was Ellie supposed to make any moves on Dina having Joel, a man who kept to himself most of the time, as the role model? 

“You’re more than welcome, kiddo,” he said, then chose the first excuse he could think of to change the subject—and landed on the movies he’d brought with him for movie night. “Let’s see, our choices are. . .”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it !


End file.
